The September Employment Report

Officially, we’ve added 4.726 million jobs since the labor market bottomed in February 2010, and nearly 5.2 million if you take into account the estimated benchmark revision that will be applied in February. That sounds like a lot, but it averages to about 167,000 per month. We need around 120,000 per month to be consistent with the growth in the working-age population.-Scott Brown, senior vice president, Raymond James & Associates

Nonfarm payrolls rose about as expected last month. However, figures for July and August were revised significantly higher. The unemployment rate fell sharply and unexpectedly, but one should take that with a grain of salt considering the seasonal adjustment issues (the start of the school year). Sifting through the details, the report suggests “more of the same.” Job gains have been roughly consistent with the pace of population growth. However, we’re still not making up much of the ground that was lost during the economic downturn.

Officially, we’ve added 4.726 million jobs since the labor market bottomed in February 2010, and nearly 5.2 million if you take into account the estimated benchmark revision that will be applied in February. That sounds like a lot, but it averages to about 167,000 per month. We need around 120,000 per month to be consistent with the growth in the working-age population.